CC Sabathia Stats To Watch

CC Sabathia has won eight straight decisions against the Blue Jays, with six of them coming as a Yankee. The last pitcher to win nine straight decisions against the Blue Jays eventually joined them -- Roger Clemens, from 1988 to 1992.

In terms of matchups to watch, the most interesting thing about this Blue Jays roster is that it doesn't have a healthy player with a home run in 151 at-bats against Sabathia.

Adam Lind has an interesting combination of numbers against Sabathia -- 5-for-11 with five strikeouts. Four of the hits have come in his last five at-bats.

Sabathia had a great slider in his first start back, one that netted him 11 outs and eight strikeouts against the Indians. He also posted his best average fastball velocity of the season (nearly 94 mph).

Sabathia has consistently averaged between 92 and 93 mph in his nine starts at Yankee Stadium this season.

J.A. Happ Stats To Watch

J.A. Happ has made two good starts against postseason contenders since allowing four runs to the Yankees on August 12 against the Yankees.

He allowed one run apiece to the Rangers and Tigers in a combined 13 1/3 innings, netting 15 strikeouts along the way.

Happ got misses on 30 percent of the swings against him in those two games, a rate higher than his 21 percent over the rest of the season.

He got 21 misses on swings at pitches that were in the strike zone, with 17 of those coming on his fastball.


UP NOW:Rafael Soriano turns it around after his horrendous performance on Monday night and Phil Hughes has a stellar outing. There are also news stories up about Mark Teixeira/Alex Rodriguez/Andy Pettitte injuries and GM Brian Cashman’s feelings about Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon being suspended. He wasn’t surprised.

ON DECK: Clubhouse opens at 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday morning. First pitch is slated for 1:05 p.m. It’ll be Sabathia against Happ.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Do you trust Soriano in a big spot?